POLICE are urging residents to shred and burn a letter which promises more than $13m if they simply reply.

The letter, which has been circulating throughout Cheshire in the past few years, instructs the reader to verify their bank details to get their hands on the small fortune.

Posted by a Mr Paul Wong, who claims to be an investment banker at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the letter has been dropping on to doormats across Frodsham, Frodsham, Huxley and Tarvin.

Police are advising residents to shred or dispose of the scam letter, before calling their nearest police station to alert them to the crime.

The new warning comes after the letter was posted to an address in Tarvin last Thursday. Police officers seized it and handed it to the Chronicle to advise readers.

Insp Phil Hodgson warned the letter, which is written in poor English, is an obvious scam, which has been circulating the area for years.

“If they can get one person to give them bank details they will start to target other houses in the area,” he said. “We had one incident where an elderly lady sent some money and she was scammed out of hundreds of pounds.

“When we asked her why she sent it, she said it was because she felt sorry for them. Do not feel sorry for them.

“Do not reply to it, tear it up and put it in the bin, then let us know.”

If you receive a letter from Paul Wong regarding investments by someone sharing your name who has died, leaving behind a fortune: